Familiar face on the big screen

“The Looking Glass” is an independent film written by Dorothy Tristan and directed by John Hancock. This film focuses on a 13-year-old girl named Julie, who moves into her grandmother’s house in LaPorte, Indiana, after losing her mother. Julie is not one to open up to people she is not familiar with, so she is very stand-off-ish with her grandmother until they find out they both share a love for something spectacular. Tarnow plays the role of Julie and eventually falls in love with this part.

“I play Karen’s granddaughter. After Julie’s mom dies and her father gets remarried so soon, her dad thinks it will do her good to spend the summer with her grandmother in La Porte. Julie is hesitant to open up to her grandmother, but they find out they share a love for singing. Julie finally agrees to audition for ‘Alice and Wonderland’ and she gets the part of Alice. At the theatre, she becomes friends with Anthony, Mallory and Josh. However, Anthony becomes more than just a friend,” Tarnow said.

The movie was filmed in local places, the farthest scene being Three Oaks, Michigan. There were showings in Michigan City, LaPorte, Benton Harbor, and also places such as New York and Los Angeles. It was officially released on DVD on August 27, 2015.

As a senior in high school now, Tarnow looks back at her seventh grade self. This summer is the five year mark since the production of the movie. She has come a long way since then. Tarnow went from singing solos in church (in fourth grade) to being a Hoosier Star champion in 2012.

“It was incredible. I met people from all over the world, and every single one of them was so kind. Thinking back, the thing I appreciated most was the way I was treated. It could have been a very intimidating experience, me being a tiny seventh grader working with all of these talented people, but they really made me feel like their equal,” Tarnow said

Tarnow has acted in nine productions at the LaPorte Little Theatre, sang at Arts in the Park, and participated in open mic nights at the Acorn Theatre and Sweet Lou’s. Recently, Tarnow joined the Praise Team at her church and is really looking forward to being a part of that.

Tarnow plans to go to college for Music Education, wanting to be an orchestra director and possibly a choir teacher.